Metro - Entertainment

US – Thursday, March 11

The week's releases

Metro staff reviews the latest CDs, DVDs and books for your reading pleasure.

Trey Songz is ‘Ready’ indeed

Trey Songz spent 2009 collecting praise in the forms of a Grammy nod for Best Contemporary R&B Album, a gold plaque and top 10 hits along with friends like Fabolous and Drake. With the success of his latest set, “Ready,” life for the former Tremaine Neverson is good.

As clear as black and Lillywhite

Steve Lillywhite has spent the past three decades producing some of the biggest pop rock acts in the world, including U2, Matchbox Twenty and the Dave Matthews Band. Now he wants a new job. He wants to replace Simon Cowell as a judge on “American Idol.”

And the Oscar goes to ...

Despite the anticipation surrounding the announcement that Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin would co-host the 82nd annual Academy Awards, the results were an unfunny mess. But the real star of the night (despite a big upset for Best Director and Best Picture awards) was James Cameron.

The right cast helps to cut the clutter

Kate Whoriskey’s production of William Gibson’s 1959 drama, “The Miracle Worker,” is nothing if not sturdy. Anchored by strong performances from its two exceptional leading ladies, it charts just-out-of-school teacher Annie Sullivan’s struggle to get through to blind and deaf young student Helen Keller and counteract the influence of Helen’s overindulgent family. Abigail Breslin is smug and ferocious as Helen, while Alison Pill is a study in single-mindedness as Annie, determined to open up Helen’s world through language.

An ‘Ugly’ farewell and a role in a ‘Wedding’

It’s time to say so long to “Ugly Betty” as America Ferrera returns to the big screen this month with “Our Family Wedding,” a culture-clash comedy about a Mexican-American law student (Ferrera) who brings her African-American fiancé (Lance Gross) home to meet her caught-off-guard family. It’s the actress’ first film since the announcement that her 4-year-old ABC comedy won’t be returning in the fall.

Philly Going Out

Get comfortable with the special

If it’s Thursday, it must be bouillabaisse. A growing number of restaurants are offering “plats du jour” that go beyond the standard menu items with traditional dishes of yesteryear. Just match up the night with your nostalgic hankering, and you can have a meal that takes you back in time as you satisfy your tastebuds of today.

The Word

A little mother and daughter quality time

When your mom is the never-aging Demi Moore, you probably have to spice up your mother/daughter relationship with a little more than just having brunch together.

My Entertainment

Puscifer performance ‘true independence’

Tool and A Perfect Circle frontman Maynard James Keenan doesn’t want any misunderstandings about his latest project, Puscifer.

Movies

Tim Burton in ‘Wonderland’

Twenty-five years after his first feature film (“Pee-wee’s Big Adventure”), director Tim Burton has continued to defy categorization, delving into animation, comic books, musicals and ghost stories. But one thing has remained constant: his focus on outsiders, from Pee-wee to Sweeney Todd to Batman to Beetlejuice. And in Disney’s big-budget, 3-D “Alice in Wonderland,” Burton takes on one of literature’s ultimate outsiders.

Going from spy to prime minister

In Roman Polanski’s “The Ghost Writer,” in theaters now, Pierce Brosnan plays a British prime minister facing a possible war crimes prosecution. We caught up with the actor about preparing for the part, but couldn’t help asking the former James Bond about his earlier work and upcoming role as Robert Pattinson’s father in “Remember Me,” which opens this weekend.

Boston Music

All that jazz, and a whole lot of other stuff

This year, the Regattabar’s annual jazz festival celebrates its 25th anniversary. But don’t expect too much ballyhoo as the renowned, three-month-long music event set in the Charles Hotel kicks off Friday with a performance by pianist Dr. Stanley Sagov and poet Robert Pinsky.

New York Arts

Pop culture meets experimental nature

More than 2 million people have watched, on YouTube, a drunken David Hasselhoff attempt to eat a hamburger. Another thousand or so will see David Neumann’s Advanced Beginner Group recreate the grim scene — several times over — during “Big Eater,” Neumann’s latest work at the Kitchen.

The Word

Making the ‘Race’ a little more amazing?

It looks like “The Amazing Race” is embroiled in a little controversy this season. TMZ.com is reporting that one of the racers, Louie Stravato, left, a 47-year-old narcotics detective in Rhode Island, is being put on desk duty after an internal investigation into a major cop-operated cocaine ring implicated some participation by the reality-show contestant.

The Word

The story behind that Oscar block

During Sunday night’s Oscars ceremony, did you see when director-producer Roger Ross Williams had his acceptance speech for “Music By Prudence” interrupted by that crazy woman? (She’s already being called the “White Kanye” on blogs the world over.) Well, Salon.com has a fascinating feature on the drama behind-the-scenes — it turns out she’s the producer of the film, Elinor Burkett, and the pair have been in a major feud for more than a year.

Photo: DAVID BURNETTWhen war is your canvas

For a man who writes so much about death in his skillful and heartbreaking new novel, “The Surrendered,” author Chang-rae Lee is surprisingly good-humored. Still, he’s first to admit that his latest effort, which follows three characters ravaged by the Korean War, took him to task.

The March MMMpod features conversation and music from Surfer Blood and The Allman Brothers Band (There's a double-bill you're not too likely to see. However, Gregg Allman does mention Hannah Montana!). We also speak with Vampire Weekend and the Dropkick Murphys.